A Mexican menu can read like a different language because, well, part of it is. But most of the words you keep seeing describe one of three things: what the protein is, how it was cooked, or what kind of sauce it is swimming in. Learn a dozen of them and almost any menu in the country opens up.
How the meat was cooked
These words tell you the method, and the method tells you the texture.
- Asada: grilled. Carne asada is grilled, sliced beef, usually with a little char on the edges.
- Al pastor: marinated pork cooked on a vertical spit, a technique brought to Mexico by Lebanese immigrants. It often comes with a touch of pineapple.
- Carnitas: pork cooked low and slow until it is tender enough to pull apart, then crisped at the edges.
- Carnitas versus barbacoa: both are slow-cooked and shredded, but barbacoa is traditionally steamed or pit-cooked, often beef, and tends to be softer and juicier.
The sauce is the whole personality
Two plates with the same meat can taste nothing alike depending on the sauce. A few you will see again and again:
- Suiza: "Swiss style," which is shorthand for creamy. Enchiladas suizas come under a smooth green tomatillo and cream sauce.
- Verde and rojo: simply green and red. Verde leans bright and tangy from tomatillos; rojo is deeper and earthier from dried red chiles.
- A la diabla: "devil style," a spicy red chile sauce. If you see it, expect heat.
- Mojo de ajo: a garlic butter sauce. Rich, fragrant, not spicy.
The shapes and the stuffings
Finally, the words that describe the dish itself.
- Relleno: "stuffed." A chile relleno is a roasted poblano pepper stuffed with cheese, battered, and fried.
- Flautas: tightly rolled, fried tacos, named for their flute shape. Crisp all the way through.
- Quesadilla: from queso, cheese. At its simplest, cheese folded in a griddled tortilla.
- Chile relleno versus chile poblano: the poblano is the pepper itself, mild and a little smoky. Relleno is what happens once you stuff it.
One more trick
When a dish is named after a place, it usually points to a style from that region. Poblana means from Puebla. A la Veracruzana points to the coast, often with tomatoes, olives, and capers. You do not need to memorize the map. Just know that a place name on a menu is a hint about how the dish will taste.
Next time the menu looks like a wall of unfamiliar words, slow down and read it in pieces: the meat, the method, the sauce. Suddenly it is not a foreign language. It is a set of pretty good promises about your dinner.
← Back to the journal